A winter storm warning remained in effect this morning for all 37 counties served by the northern Indiana National Weather Service office. See the latest verbatim warning statment.

As of 7:15 a.m. EDT, the NWS office near Syracuse reported 4.5 inches of snow on the ground so far. At 7:42 a.m., WANE-TV meteorologist Jesse Hawila reported four inches of snow with wind gusts to 30 mph near the intersection of Hillegas and Ardmore Roads. As of 8 a.m., the official snow measurement at Fort Wayne International Airport was 4.9 inches, with a snowfall rate of 2 inches per hour for the preceding two hours!

Utilities are reporting sporadic power outages across the area. As of 7:51 a.m. EDT, Indiana Michigan Power reported 3,538 customers were without power in Allen County, Indiana. In Whitley County, another 2,796 I&M customers had no power. At 8:20 a.m., the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency reported outages in Auburn, Ashley and Corunna.

Travel status by county as of 8:40 a.m. EDT. Orange: watch. Yellow: advisory. See definitions.

Allen County, Indiana declared a “watch” travel status at 8:33 a.m., an upgrade from the “advisory” status declared at 6:06 a.m. A watch status means, “only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended.” As of 8:40 a.m. EDT, Several other northern Indiana counties, including Whitley, Huntington and Wells, were also at a “watch” travel status. Grant and Adams were at the advisory level, which means “routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.”  See the latest travel status map for the entire state.

Road conditions as reported by INDOT at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Blue road indicate “fair” conditions. Purple road indicate “difficult” conditions, the worst rating given.

As of 8:15 a.m. EDT, the Indiana Department of Transportation reported that road conditions throughout the Fort Wayne are were “fair,” while conditions just to the north and west were “difficult,” the worst rating INDOT gives. See the latest road condition map, because conditions were deteriorating rapidly and police were reporting many slide-offs and crashes.

For the latest information on the storm use the following resources:

• www.weather.gov/iwx.
• NWS Twitter page (@nwsiwx).
• NWS Facebook page.
• Allen County Twitter page (@AllenCountyInfo).
• Allen County Facebook page.
• Allen County Office of Homeland Security Twitter page.
• Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) travel advisory page.
• IDHS Twitter page.
• Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) road conditions page.
• INDOT statewide Twitter page.
• INDOT northeast region Twitter page.
• Indiana Michigan Power outage page.
• NIPSCO power outage page.
• The websites, Twitter pages and Facebook pages of your favorite news media.

Pink area indicates counties included in Winter Storm Warning (NWS map, 4 p.m. EDT March 11).

Update: View a multimedia briefing on this storm.

The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service has upgraded its previously-issued Winter Storm Watch for tonight and tomorrow to a Winter Storm Warning for its entire forecast area, including southeastern counties that the watch had excluded. The warning is in effect from 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT tomorrow (Wednesday) for the southern part of the forecast area, including Allen County, Ind. It begins at 12:00 a.m. for northern counties (see graphic at bottom).

The warning forecasts five to eight inches of snow in southern parts of the 37-county forecast area and six to nine inches in northern counties. In addition, the NWS forecasts snowfall rates “in excess of an inch per hour” and winds of 20 mph to 30 mph gusting to 35 to 40 mph, causing “considerable blowing and drifting snow” and hazardous travel late tonight and Wednesday.The strong winds might also blow down tree branches and cause power outages.

See the latest verbatim statement from the NWS.

Why the change to a warning? The snowfall forecast increased for the warning area but what seems to have really helped meteorologists make the decision are the potential travel disruption from drifting snow and the potential power outages from high winds combined with heavy, wet snow.

The NWS infographic below shows meteorologists’ current thinking as to timing and accumulation. Free free to use the social media sharing buttons below the infographic to share this information with others. Also, feel free to use the comment facility to share your thoughts and/or questions.

The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service issued the above infographic this morning, with their latest thinking on the coming snow storm. Note the sentence that indicates the continued existence of some uncertainty regarding the exact track and timing.

See the latest Winter Storm Watch, which remains effect for all but the southeastern-most counties of the forecast area. See the latest Special Weather Statement for the remaining counties.

Also, see the tweet below:

Want to know how much snow we’re forecasting for YOUR location? Here’s how to find out: pic.twitter.com/HRiC7IN3tT
— NWS Northern Indiana (@NWSIWX) March 11, 2014

Blue area: Winter Storm Watch: Peach area: Special Weather Statement.

The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for most of its forecast area — including Allen County, Indiana — for midnight EST Tuesday night until 5 p.m. EST Wednesday. It issued a Special Weather Statement for its southeastern-most counties, including Grant, Blackford, Jay, Adams Wells, Van Wert, and Allen (Ohio).

Precipitation will likely begin as a period of rain along and south of a Winamac, Indiana to Warsaw, Indiana to Bryan, Ohio line before changing over to all snow from the northwest to southeast, according to the watch statement. Snow accumulations are forecast to generally range between four and eight inches. In addition, sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph will create areas of blowing snow and hazardous travel in the region Wednesday.

Forecasters expect the southeastern counties covered by the Special Weather Statement to get more rain, with snowfall totals ranging from three to six inches.

See the verbatim Winter Storm Watch (it’s in two sections .. .be sure to scroll to the section that mentions your county). See the verbatim Special Weather Statement.

Accumulating snowfall remains likely across northeastern Indiana, southern lower Michigan and northwestern Ohio Tuesday night and Wednesday, according to a Hazardous Weather Outlook issued at 5:51 a.m. by the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service (NWS). The area could get several inches of snow, but the exact location of the heaviest snowfall remained uncertain at that time.

Meteorologists expect to have the data they need later today to make more accurate forecasts, according to the Area Forecast Discussion the northern Indiana NWS office issued at 6:52 a.m. It indicates that the office might need to issue a winter weather advisory for the system, especially for the period between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday.

As Tuesday night approaches, keep an eye on www.weather.gov/iwx for the latest forecast updates.